The annual Merrie Monarch Hula Competition and Festival honors Hawaiian
King David Kalakaua, known as “The Merrie Monarch” for his love of song
and dance. In celebration of his memory, hundreds of highly talented
hula dancers and their Hālau (schools) from different islands of Hawai‘i
and around the mainland United States perform, compete, and perpetuate
this indigenous expression of dance and story-telling.